I was at baltimore today. There were very little amount of graded pandas. What little was there, was high dollar coins. I saw a 1996 pf69uc 1 oz gold panda. Gorgeous, but way out of my budget. 1992 ms70 1 oz gold panda. Also very nice from the same dealer. I also saw a 1988 1 oz gold basel from another dealer. The most interesting thing I saw, was a 1982 coin with red spots. I know it may sound lame but it was a learning experience for me. Now I know what red spots look like.

I too have all 5 sets of Rosetta Stone in Mandarin. My wife and I have also taken Mandarin Classes. We are giving some thought to moving to China for a year. I do appreciate the culture. There is so much to see and we just can't do it for a few months. Also a year would give us immersion into the language. We won't seek out English speaking Chinese but try to exclusively communicate through Mandarin. We are looking at Shanghai and also a few cities in Guangdong Province (warm). We will of course be traveling throughout China but are leaning to our home base being in the south.

Absolutely correct, nothing more important than the language of a culture. Back in January I did purchase my rosetta stone levels 1 to 5. A few months ago I did my first order in Mandarin at a local Chinese restaurant. I impressed the heck out of all the family members who had no idea. That moment to me was worth more than all my coins combined. I also ended up getting a complimentary dish on the house for been a "Chinese comrade"

I keep reading about how China goes through these booms and busts all through history. How they cant hold it together. Francis Fukuyama talked about it in his book Trust. He said that in countries like the US, Japan, you can have large organizations due to trust. When I lived in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, there was a Panasonic plant making TVs. The Japanese plant, the organization, was on one side of the road. Many Malaysian Malays and Indians worked there. Across the road was some industrial parks with many small garages. Thats where the Chinese worked, largely in 1-3 man operations, making the cable assemblies, buttons, casings and other components.

Has trust changed? NY Times today:

In Hong Kong, Frustration 15 Years After Return to Chinese Rule

Public mistrust of the central government in Beijing is at its highest since the handover in 1997, while approval ratings for Leung Chun-ying, the incoming Hong Kong chief executive, have dropped sharply before his inauguration.

Pressing economic worries have contributed to public frustration that has been building for months, both with Beijing and with the political and economic system in Hong Kong since 1997, a system in which special interests controlled by a small circle of wealthy tycoons select the chief executive.

I don't see many people talk about ancient Chinese coins. These are truly historically and culturally significant coins, but who really care to learn about them?

Not many.

I don't see how MCC can be more historically or culturally significant than the real Chinese coins with 1000s years of history.

No offence here. If one really appreciate Chinese culture, then the very first thing is to learn the language. You can't say you appreciate the culture just by buying few coins and hoping you made some profit along the way.

To me that is a real insult.

Well said low and I agree ... I just love the way you tell it like it is. I like your style ...

Absolutely correct, nothing more important than the language of a culture. Back in January I did purchase my rosetta stone levels 1 to 5. A few months ago I did my first order in Mandarin at a local Chinese restaurant. I impressed the heck out of all the family members who had no idea. That moment to me was worth more than all my coins combined. I also ended up getting a complimentary dish on the house for been a "Chinese comrade"

exchange

Impressive, indeed. Good work. Keep up your studies...In my studies of Spanish (in college) and Vietnamese (albeit briefly using Rosetta Stone), few things establish a connection with those from different cultures as well as being able to speak their language (especially if you are an American, as their expectations for your language skills are very low). The only thing that comes close is being able to play soccer well (I played in college) with locals in foreign countries. I've been astonished how quickly the walls of being a "stranger" can crumble when you can connect through language and sport...

>>>I don't see many people talk about ancient Chinese coins. These are truly historically and culturally significant coins, but who really care to learn about them?

Not many.<<<

LOW,

The problem lies with the inability to easily find credible information on these coins along with the prolific counterfeiting. I would love to learn more on the ancient Chinese coins but it is not an easy thing to do. If you have a command of the language and knowledge of the ancient coins I would be buying the rarest ones up pronto. Unfortunately and don't speak the language and fear the counterfeits.

Here is the book for ancient Chinese coin published on line by British Museum in English. The book covers most ancient Chinese cash coins for more than 2000 years and contains clear pictures of more than 500 coins. You can download the book from the following link(free). This is a must read book for collectors of Chinese ancient coins.